Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a young tegu a few days ago. I don't know how old but it's about 11-12 inches in total length. There are still some very small amounts of green on the sides of its head so I am assuming about 4 mos or so. As far as I know it was fed primarily crickets until now. I have a large colony of dubia roaches and thought I could replace the crickets with these. It has only eaten 1 roach in the 3 days I have had it.

I am keeping it on 6" of cypress mulch. I don't want to turn the roaches loose in the cage because they will burrow and stay hidden until night then pester it while it sleeps. It has shown little interest in eating in a separate enclosure. I would prefer to not have to feed crickets considering the large dubia colony I already have.

I read some posts on here and I'll offer it some fruit and chicken liver. I just don't think it has ever been bowl fed and not sure how it will respond.

Any suggestions on getting them to feed in a separate enclosure?

Thanks
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We are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spirits having a human experience.

I used rubbermaid tubs, still use them, and put the tegu in them with the food in a bowl and left them alone for awhile. I also used tongs to hold the food in front of their mouths to entice them to eat. Now i use paper plates in the rubbermaid tubs for feeding. I have videos posted on youtube of our tegus eating. look up ageber2158

I don't feed mine in a rubbermaid type enclosure, but I would think that time and persistence would be key. He will get into the swing of things and settle into the routine.

Also, make sure his temps are accurate and he has a good UVB source. These will stimulate appetite. Since the foods he is eating are low in calcium, sprinkle them with a supplement that does not contain phosphorous.